Pies, Real and Imagined

I am including a sneak peek of my Pumpkin Farm barn, a blog post-to-come featuring Julie Sefton's Build-A-Barn book and my own version. As a charter member of the SSOBB, I will be posting about this fantastic book and the liberating creative process on Monday, July 25, as well as offering a book giveway; you can (and should!) build yourself a barn!  Stay tuned for my barn building adventure and your chance to win; details are available through the sidebar links. Speaking of pies- I have just finished making the second Corn,Tomato and Cheddar pie of the summer. This pie is so delicious (and smells absolutely incredible while baking) that I couldn't resist putting together another one almost right away! The photo, below, is directly from the website, (click for instructions) I can't recommend this recipe highly enough. So, today, whether you're baking real pies or dreaming about pies-to-come, whether you're slicing actual fruit or machine appliqueing ingredients to a background, enjoy something homemade today.

Happy 4th of July!

Life is Good!

DeRailed, With A Bonus

DeRailed  ~ 64" X 80"

All the blocks are ready and on the design wall, I've renamed this one DeRailed. Originally begun to jump-start my piecing, and called "Rustic Rails", this was a fun and productive diversion that has aided in breaking through my piecer's block and clearing the deck for other projects. Those of you who know me will understand that I love precision and rules; I like plannning and control of the project. This quilt isn't about any of those things, it's all about letting go! The pattern comes from Sujata Shah's Cultural Fusion Quilts book, the contents of which include patterns and inspiration for 15 free-form block projects.  DeRailed has actually put me back on track. The freedom found in piecing large blocks combined with an unrestricted cutting approach has been liberating; just what I needed! I hope to get back to a few UFO's here shortly, in more of my typical style. In the meantime, DeRailed has yielded yet another  side benefit: a bonus quilt top! Sewn L-E style while assembling the rails this charm tumbler, TMX2~#2 , will most likely be loaded and quilted next. It joins its sister quilt, TMX2 (The More The Merrier), completed last summer. They are both destined to become car quilts.

 TMX2~#2  56" X 68" 

Take a lesson from me. Are you on track? Does your piecing seem stale and uninspired all of a sudden? If so, you might want to try something completely new and unpredictable. Shake it up!  I did; and, for me, it's made all the difference!

Life is Good!

                                                             

A Different Type Of Bible Study

Quiltkeemosabe and I have embarked upon an adventure; writing up cutting directions for, and stitching up, each of the 202 six-inch blocks in The Quilt Block Bible by Rosemary Youngs. This is a beautiful book full of gorgeous quilt blocks with an accompanying CD of block drawings that can be printed out, but there are no instructions whatsoever.  We are taking a systematic approach and are scheduling monthly get-togethers (referred to from here on in as Bible study) to work our way through the book... me from the front to the back and she from the opposite direction; we'll meet in the middle! My pallete is more of along the traditional, scrappy, lines where hers is bolder and more vibrant; you can tell who made which blocks in the photo. We worked on the same block today, those two are pictured in the center... hers on the bottom and mine on the top. I hope to post photos of our ever-increasing block collections each month. From this point on our tasks are to make up, for ouselves, the blocks that the other has written up directions for during the past month as well as write up, and stitch out, the next five blocks in our own given direction through the book; we will each work on a predetermined block together at our next Bible study.  We have both delighted in using some of our specialty rulers where appropriate (I have a vast collection, most of which I have purchased at her urging suggestion). As if this wasn't just about as much fun as a person should be allowed to have we also ate lunch and had a book report (quilt book) to discuss! This month's book report was Quiltkeemosabe's responsibility; she chose the book Nurture Your Creative Spirit by Vicki Pignatelli. We discussed the book over lunch, it was inspiring and insightful; for both of us. I'll find a book to report on for next time, one from my own bookshelf.  Working our way through the "Bible" together keeps us on task and accountable. The book reports force us to actually read the books we buy and shine a light on the valuable contents without becoming distracted by the photos.  All in all, it was a great time; our creative spirits were fed and our bodies were nourished. I can't wait for our next Bible study!

Life is Good!

Swiss Baskets, The Reveal!

Swiss Baskets ~ 53" X 53"

This quilt, begun in 1999 and finished this week is, at long last, completely complete (see previous  post)! I based the design of this one on a pattern  "Aunt Boppy's Baskets" from the book The Joy Of Quilting (© 1995) by Joan Hanson and Mary Hickey. I was inspired by that pattern which incorporated antique lace doilies into the baskets and wanted to create a similar effect using handkerchiefs collected while living in Switzerland.  Using a method known as "channel (reverse) applique" I added the lettering to spell out Switzerland in the three languages I heard on a daily basis while calling that country home for three years.  I have recently acquired a box full of handmade, antique doilies and may make another, similar, wallhanging... hopefully in less than fifteen years! The two photos below depict the quilting in more detail, show the dimension of the baskets and represent the quilt's colors much more accurately. 

Life is Good!

Quilts, Quilts Everywhere!

The last couple of days, when I've had the television on, I couldn't help but notice that I kept seeing quilts... everywhere! Those of us who are quilters more than likely have quilt "radar" anyway; noticing quilt patterns in our exterior surroundings everyday, such as floor tiles or even in nature. I'm talking here though about the blatant, quilt-related, TV-spot saturation. Wednesday, while watching an episode of Hallmark's Home and Family, who was the featured guest? None other than Alex Anderson! She did a quick segment on assembling a Bowtie block and showed off some of her spectacular quilts. These are all featured in her newest book: Scrap Quilting with Alex Anderson.

 I couldn't help but drool over this one, can't you just imagine combining all of your low volume
 prints with some brights for your own Bowtie quilt using this striking zig-zag setting?

The next item I heard on the news. These are the uniforms that our U.S. athletes
 will wear during the opening ceremonies at the upcoming Sochi Olympics.
Designed by Ralph Lauren and influenced by, yes, American patchwork!

And, lastly, in this Turbo Tax commercial.  Okay, honestly, this one may take a keener sense of quilt awareness as the scenes scan by very quickly; but, this ad entitled: "The Year Of  The You" highlights a new quilter proudly showing off her first quilt top (10 seconds in), her smile says it all. Have a look, you'll smile too!

Seek them out today, in those unexpected places; you most likely won't have to search far. You never know where quilts may be lurking; waiting to be discovered! According the Chinese zodiac this is the year of the horse; however, I'm declaring it the year of the quilt, they're everywhere!

Life is Good!

Light Baskets

I've been AWOL lately, I know. It's high time that I posted  a few* completed projects, those checks in the "done" column have never been valued higher. Life is busy these days, and I know it's not just me, life's busy for everyone. You've seen this quilt before, you haven't seen it finished though; I hung it in the studio on Saturday evening while Mr. Goodneedle upgraded Sundance with a set of M&M wheels! (The M & M wheels are made from a tough polymer that decreases friction, along with a special bearing that provides improved durability and smoother movement.) It's true, Sundance has never moved smoother or more gracefully; these wheels are already making long, extended, quilting sessions a breeze!  You may remember that this scrap quilt is an Alex Anderson pattern, Postage Stamp Baskets from her book : Quilts For Fabric Lovers. I named mine Light Baskets for several reasons. The summer before last I constructed these baskets in the predawn hours of each day, one sunrise/basket at a time. The arrangement of lights and darks in this piece gives a certain "lit from within" characteristic to its appearance which reminds me of the scripture passage from Luke about hiding light under a basket. Light Baskets was a perfect, fitting, name!

A detail shot of the quilting.

Light Baskets measures 62" X 62".

Life is Good!

*Another finish will be revealed tomorrow!

First Book, Last Book

I ordered a book from Quiltdivajulie, she was cleaning off her quilter's bookshelf the other day and offering some titles for $5 a piece through her blog! That got me to thinking. I have shelves full of quilt books, I can't bear to part with any of them. I still have the first quilting book that I ever purchased; Small Quilts by Marsha McCloskey. I made every quilt in that book, there are eight patterns, and this was before rotary cutters! It's copyrighted 1982, but I bought it in 1986. There are directions for making templates from cardboard and for hand quilting and tying, along with directions for machine quilting using a walking foot. This photo is the back cover, with the price in the lower right, you can click to enlarge; yes, it was $6.00! It's amazing that I have stayed with quilting when I think back to how much more complicated it was to construct a quilt with no speed-cutting techniques. I hand pieced quite a bit back then, too. That's probably why, when I was teaching, I focused on the basics. It's how I learned and it's a rock solid foundation to understanding seam allowance and basic pattern drafting. I can go back to that if (and when) I need to, but I whole-heartedly embrace the advent of rotary techniques and all the time-saving tips and tricks of the trade today! I enjoyed looking back through my first quilt book this morning. I had made notes to myself in the margins and there were even some of my early quilt fabric snippets tucked in the pages, what a joyful surprise! Take a look through your bookshelves, do you still have your first-ever quilt book? What is the title? Who is the author? I probably have it also, if you bought it in the last 22 years or so! Even though I have never culled any books from my shelf, I do admit to slowing down quite a bit as far as adding titles is concerned. So, what was the latest addition, the bargain from Quiltdivajulie? Magic Quilts By The Slice, (Another Magic Stack-n- Whack Book) by Bethany Reynolds, I just love a deal; and there's always room for one more!

Life is Good!




24. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope
is often a good "Thank you Jesus."